Family Guy Interview

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Talking about Family Guy games, working with Seth MacFarlane, and feedback from Stewie 2.0

By Levi Buchanan

Judging from reader reaction to our exclusive peek at The Family Guy: Air Griffin, fans of the Griffin clan are legion. So we took the opportunity to have words with Airborne Entertainment (publishers of the Family Guy mobile products) President and Chief Marketing Officer Andy Nulman and chat up all things Family Guy.

IGN Wireless: "The Family Guy" made its reputation on scatalogical humor -- some of which is admittedly vulgar. How do you translate that style of humor to a mobile game without raising the ire of the carrier?

Andy Nulman, Airborne: Easy. To start, we show the carrier a completely different game; a neutered, PG-version so to speak. After they approve this decoy we submit the "real" one with all the nasty and good stuff. The carriers are so busy, by the time they notice the switcheroo, the game is doing so well that it would be fiscally irresponsible to pull it down.

IGN Wireless: And if you do need to tame things a bit, do think you risk losing the interest of fans that do indeed tune in for the mature content?

Nulman: Family Guy fans are truly a unique breed; they are die-hard loyal, but possess a very sensitive BS-meter. They are not necessarily on an obsessive quest for scatology or naughtiness; what they look for in a product--whatever it may be--is that is remain true to the brand. This is what we have to deliver across the entire Family Guy mobile line, from games to video, to wallpapers, ringbacks and ringers. Then again, how much more mature can you get than Stewie saying "Shave My Coin Purse"?

Andy Nulman, Airborne

IGN Wireless: How involved is Seth MacFarlane and/or the rest of the "Family Guy" staff with the mobile game projects?

Nulman: Seth is so insanely busy, yet I know he takes a glance at every product derived from his oeuvre. But we are actively involved with the show's writing and producing team, most notably Steve Callaghan, Kara Vallow and David Goodman when we first started on the project. One of the greatest moments was seeing the cast's reaction when we gave them a sneak peek at our prototypes backstage at a live event in New York. Alex Borstein (Lois), Seth Green (Chris) and Mike Henry (Cleveland and countless others) were running around showing the phones to their friends and family.

IGN Wireless: What was the feedback to the first "Family Guy" game? And how did that come to bear in the creation of "Air Griffin?"

Nulman: Feedback was quite positive. Fox said we captured the spirit of the show, and the sales numbers were out of the park. To be frank, some fans questioned the robots and the basic shoot-to-win factor of the game, but for the first product, we wanted to go out with a concept that gamers would be familiar with. For "Air Griffin," we simplified things to concentrate on the characters themselves, and made it a one-button game so simple even that even a moron could pick it up and play it instantly.

IGN Wireless: What are some of your favorite things about the new "Air Griffin" game?

Nulman: The fact that it's so simple that I can pick it up and play it instantly.

IGN Wireless: What are some of the challenges present in developing a licensed game versus a game based on original IP?

Nulman: In an original game, you play God--the universe you create is yours, as are the rules, the characters...everything. In a licensed game, obviously, the universe is pre-determined for you. But developing product in the Family Guy universe is like being best buddies with a God who is intoxicated. You sit back, admire the mayhem, then move in to make some order of it.

IGN Wireless wants to thank Andy Nulman for taking the time to answer our questions.